Votes due on 2 board of review selections, proposed roundabout

URBANA — Champaign County Board members will vote Thursday night (May 24) on the appointment of two members to the three-member Champaign County Board of Review, and take one more look at a proposed roundabout at the intersection of Olympian Drive and Lincoln Avenue north of Urbana.

Two incumbent board of review members, Democrat Wayne Williams of Champaign and Republican Steve Bantz, also of Champaign, are up for reappointment to the board that hears homeowner appeals of real estate assessments.

County board Chairman C. Pius Weibel said Wednesday that he will nominate Williams for one of the positions, but wants Champaign Republican Mark Whitsitt to replace Bantz. The county board is free to accept or reject Weibel's nomnations.

In addition to Williams, Elizabeth Burgener-Patton of Mahomet applied for the Democratic position on the board of review. She said she is a certified residential appraiser with 17 years of experience and also is a real estate broker.

A third Republican, Patricia Langland of Grant Park, applied for the GOP seat.

Also at tonight's meeting the county board will vote to advise the city of Urbana that it supports a standard intersection design at Olympian and North Lincoln, rather than a roundabout. Earlier this month at a committee-of-the-whole session, the county board voted 17-9 to advise Urbana, which is responsible for the Olympian Drive project, of its opinion. But Urbana Mayor Laurel Prussing said she'll continue to push for a roundabout at the site.

Also on the agenda tonight is a vote on a resolution supporting maintaining the Police Training Institute at the University of Illinois, and the reappointment of Jerry Lyke of Champaign to the Urbana & Champaign Sanitary District and the appointment of Margaret Chaplan of Champaign to the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District.

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If Urbana wants roundabouts, Urbana should pay for them. No county, state, or federal monies should be used for the projects. If Urbana wants statues, that is fine; but no county, state, or federal monies should be used. The people living outside of Urbana should have their tax money used for their necessary projects. Urbana should pay for it's wants while others pay for their communities needs.

Sid, I think I've come to the conclusion that we have to have a roundabout. Until it actually happens, whenever I think of a roundabout I'll be reminded of that beautiful and timeless Tiffany song from 1980 something, "Could've Been."

No amount of money, at this point, is too much to pay for a roundabout. Apparently they save millions of lives a year, and they cost 1% of a traditional intersections to build. Plus, as an added bonuse, for every roundabout built in Illinois, 100 acres of virgin rainforest are saved from destruction in Brazil, and 1000 baby seals are saved from getting clubbed. How can you be against that? I say bring em on!

bluegrass; I don't pay taxes in Brazil. It would be nice if the rainforest was saved. It would be nice if baby seals were not clubbed. However, I do not have any control on what happens elsewhere. I do not even have any control on www.youtube.com. I do pay taxes in the U.S., Illinois, and Champaign County. If you want roundabouts for Urbana, that is fine. Pay for them with Urbana's money; not others money. I never realized until now how much you cared about the environment, and others safety. Good for you. I am sure that other commentors will appreciate your support of Urbana's roundabouts.

Why do they need an intersection at Olympia and North Lincoln anyway? The expansion of Olympia drive is ridiculous considering there are plenty of roads that need repaired or replaced, why build a road to nowhere. It omly will become a race track for people to lazy to get up and leave for work on time.